“Aside from a delicious late night snack or a D.I.Y. Solution to a bad situation, Hamburgers on Wonderbread is a versatile rock band playing all the music you know and love,” proclaims the intriguingly-named band’s promo material.
Mathew Shelson initially objected to the name but was overruled. He thought Hamburgers on Wonderbread was too ridiculous to work, but after he resigned himself to the name he began to like it. Maybe even relish it. The potential for silliness was just too high.
“If we’re big enough for Wonderbread to notice us, I’ll be pretty happy at that point in time,” he said.
The four band members are originally from Ontario and have now settled one after another in Invermere and Brisco. Jesse Couvillon hadn’t known the others – although Mr. Shelson said “he also played in the same band circuit and I knew his band” back in Ontario.
It wasn’t until Mr. Couvillon posted on a local Facebook group asking to join a band that he met his neighbours from Ontario and the Valley.
“He was looking for a group to play guitar in, and I already played guitar,” Mr. Shelson said. “He worked out really good but we didn’t have a drummer, so I just said: ‘Alright, I’ll play drums’.”
Since its inception last year, the group has played a handful of gigs, but their summer is starting to book up. They will be performing at Steamboat Mountain Music Festival after having been recruited while playing another show.
Mr. Shelson is excited for Hamburgers on Wonderbread to perform at the festival.
“There’s so many good acts there and so many talented musicians and for us to even be a small part of it at the beginning of the show is a really, really cool opportunity for us,” he said.
The band plays cover songs from ‘60s to the 2000s.
“Everyone enjoys it so far. We get people dancing. We have a few sing alongs so I haven’t seen anyone walk out on us,” he said with a laugh. “Their response has always been a positive response.”
